BLW: reassurance needed after seeing Health Visitor

DS is just over 6 months old, and I started offering him solid food about 3 weeks ago. Read Aitch's fantastic BLW blog and decided to give it ago (couldn't be arsed with tussling over the spoon with DS).

Anyway, I've been feeling pretty chuffed with myself over the whole BLW thing so far. It's a *million miles* away from the faff of Karmelesque pureeing etc that I did for DD. Weaning was a struggle with DD, partly because HV advised me to start weaning DD too early (IMO) at just over 5 months. She wasn't following the 'correct' centile line, and HV thought solid food would make her put on more weight . Needless to say it didn't.

But I digress - DS seems to really really enjoy his food, and makes valiant efforts to get as much of the stuff into his mouth as possible. His hand-to-mouth coordination isn't that great yet though....so I do sometimes wonder if he's managing to eat enough to satiate his hunger. But I have been repeating the 'food's for fun until they're one' mantra, and he's still having plenty of breatmilk.

So I went off to get DD and DS weighed last week, and DS (who was originally on the 91st centile) is now on approx 60th centile. I've only had him weighed a few times since he was born, and he's been gradually 'falling down' the centiles...it's certainly not something that's suddenly happened now that he's starting eating solids. As an aside, DD was 50th centile at birth and ended up on 4th centile for a long while, so I shouldn;t be fazed by this, but I think I'm just a bit neurotic. [chewed nails]

I was so determined to remain confident in the face of those flipping centile charts, but can now feel myself getting a bit edgy again. Not helped by the HV blathering on about how babies who are not weaned til they are 6 months should be encouraged to be on 3 square meals a day asap (like some sort of fast-track weaning...lol!).

I really didn't want to get into a 'calendar-driven panic' as another MNer brilliantly described it, but the HV laid it on thick about iron levels running out at 6 months ('especially breast-fed babies').

I suppose there's just a wee bit of me that's wavering and wondering if I should dust off the mouli and start wrestling with DS over the spoon to make sure he eats 'enough'.

Spawn Chorus did you see the thread I started recently about the growth charts? I will try and find a link....
can't stop for long (am supposed to be working but can I just say that iron levels do NOT RUN OUT AT SIX MONTHS that's just phooey frankly and anyone who says that deserves a smack in the chops. iron stores BEGIN TO DEPLETE but your baby's health is NOT at risk if you carry on giving him as much milk as he wants for the time being

oh yes goo dpoint colditz, offer broccoli florets another thing I used to do was cook some dried apricots and puree them us, them spread the apricot goo on bread or toast or rice cake or offer it as a dip loads of iron in that

do not worry my love - birth weight has little to do with their weight at a year old! My youngest 3 were all whopper babies they were all on diff centiles at a year old and diff again now they are older!

If he's hungry he'll eat unless there is something seriously wrong with him which I think you would probaby notice!

Thank you all! Just what I wanted to hear (read). I've actually only had him weighed a couple of times, and only took him in this time because I was getting DD weighed (she's not putting any weight on at the mo, despite eating like a horse...but that's another story).

If it helps DD is BLW'd and was on the 75th centile until she was 6 months, and then at 7-8 months was suddenly on the 30th...cue big panic and talking to by HV (give her formula, spoonfeed her high calorie foods...blah, blah, blah), which I pretended to listen to...

Cut to 1 year old and she is back on the 75th line! Only prob now is that HV thinks it was her advice...dammit

Wish I could avoid her but they insist on weighing them before their injections, so you have no choice!

Just thought I'd say that the RNI for iron for babies up to 3yrs is 6.9mg a day. A massive 3oz of broccoli contains 1mg.
Actually it's really hard to get to 6.9mg a day with a baby - even 3oz of steak only contains 2.4mg.

Aloha - so how on earth do we get enough iron into 'em? HV actually mentioned vitamin drops for DS as breast milk doesn't have as much iron as formula. (I believe this is true, but still don't particularly want to give him vitamins). In fact she specified Abidec, which is extra because Abidec doesn't even contain iron!

You don't need to 'get iron into' your baby. Gradual and responsive introductions to a range of other foods will sort it out, without worrying about micrograms - there are many non-meat foods, such as dried apricots, eggs, pulses, dark green veg, that have iron.

Was advised to give vitamin drops to dd1 (as she was bf and "your vitamins have run out" !)

They don't have iron in, I imagine because of the risk of taking an excess. Also the vitamins were in peanut oil as I recall, and I'd been carefully avoiding peanuts all through pregnancy and bf, so I was a bit disgusted with the whole thing.

Me, I'm of the basic opinion that if the cavefolk didn't do it, it can't be all that necessary.